The Perfect Scene
by MeredithBrody
Summary: Brody thinks about her relationship with James and all the things that went into it along the way. (Brames)(Canon compliant)


**So, this was really hard, and I very almost didn't post it. Thanks to PinkAngel17, as usual, this fic is seeing the light of day. It's not my usual writing style, and it's... just not what I normally write. But I've wanted to write to this song for legitimately months. I suggest you listen to "The Perfect Scene" by Mercy Mercedes while reading this, because the song is very, very much Brames. Anyway. Enjoy.  
Shin xx**

* * *

 _ **Well, it's on my mind-  
I'm headin' back in time,  
And when I think of all the songs we used to play,  
And then I think of you and it's all right,  
I think of you and it's all right..**_

* * *

For some reason, James Lathom had always been something that Brody had retreated back to in her mind when she needed some comfort. Sometimes she would think back to things that she and Emily would do, but often that would lead to her feeling sad and wouldn't have actually solved any of her problems. It would just have changed what she was struggling with and rarely was that something that she needed. James was safer, and for the most part, he was happier.

She remembered that she'd once told a suspect, and Pride in a way, the story of how she and James had met and fallen in love with each other, and every single part of the story had been true, other than why they'd split up. She'd convinced the suspect that James had not been who he said. But really, James was the most genuine person that anyone would ever meet. He didn't lie about who he was, or what he did. He didn't need too, he was nuts enough without that.

They'd met at a party, and they'd bonded over the fact they hated the music that was being played. They then found out that they'd had a lot more in common, from movies to politics. She'd never met someone who complimented her as well as he had, and she honestly doubted that she ever would again. She thought about all the nights they both had off, when she was a new agent or when he didn't have an assignment. Sure they'd often barely had the money to cover the bills, but they'd been happy.

Most nights, they would pull out a guitar each and just play whatever song came to mind. Sometimes they'd record themselves and laugh watching it back. Every time those songs came on the radio or into her mind she would immediately think about James, and that would calm her faster than anything else. He held a position in her life she didn't know how to replace, and the truth was that she didn't really want to.

Comfort was not always something that she had, so having it in any form whatsoever was something she was going to keep a hold of. She had fallen in love with James when she was still quite young, and she couldn't imagine having gone through everything she had since without him. She needed him to pull her out of the darkest parts of her life, and he needed her to bring him down when his head was in the clouds. That was yet another way they complimented each other.

Thinking of him just always brought that, and on more than one occasion since moving to New Orleans she'd truly needed to be reminded that not everything in the universe had gone to shit. Those memories of nights spent doing next to nothing would always be the thing that brought her back. She hadn't shared those memories with anyone.

* * *

 _ **Well, it's this sort of thing that gets me to lose my mind,  
And it's the flash-flashy eyes that make it worth while,  
And every time when we'd, we'd get together,  
We'd just fall in love again**_

* * *

When he'd shown up today though, she'd been on a date. She'd been very casually seeing the pilot for a while, since the case he'd been involved in, but nothing serious was even on the horizon. James hadn't pushed at all when he'd come across her, accidentally. Or more, she had. He'd been at the restaurant for a business meeting, and had emailed her that he was back in New Orleans. these sorts of coincidences made her lose her mind. The pilot hadn't stayed after she'd explained who James was, and she didn't blame him. For some reason, she'd blamed James.

There had been no reason, at all, for her to blame James. But she'd done it anyway, and she'd stormed out when he'd tried to ask if there was anything he could do. It had been childish, but she hadn't been able to stop herself. She didn't know why, but even just knowing that James was there had thrown her for a loop again. Just like it had every other time he'd come to the cities where she lived. She'd shouted at him, and realised while she was shouting at him that that twinkle in his eyes was exactly why she loved him.

Maybe it was partially her fault why she was still so susceptible to him. She had already thought about how much she'd loved him, and how much she wished that the hard times hadn't affected them the way they had. The simple truth was, every time they were together this happened. As James chased her through the rain he shouted out all the reasons he cared for her, all the reasons he'd always thought he'd spend his entire life with her. He shouted about them all.

She could already feel the usual fall. The thing that happened every time she and James where there. She knew it was going to happen, but she still didn't want to admit to it, or give in to it. James' face reminded her of the fact that he couldn't hide from himself, and he couldn't lie to himself. He was one of the most open people, and Brody could see right through him. She still needed to ask exactly why he cared that she'd been on the date. Why he cared that she may have found someone else that she cared for. They stopped in the middle of a rain soaked square, one that was still full of tourists taking photographs, despite the rain, and as they stopped she saw James mouth speak words she rarely heard.

"Because I love you, Meredith. I love you."

* * *

 _ **All in all, it's the perfect scene  
**_ _ **And it's not anywhere that I would rather be  
**_ _ **And it's now, now or never when we're chasing our dreams  
**_ _ **And oh, we're getting close now-  
**_ _ **Don't turn away**_

* * *

Tonight was perfect. Everything about it was perfect. She could see the lights reflecting back at her in the rain-soaked alleys around them, and she could see the truthful innocence in James' face as he looked at her. Shouting their feelings had never really been their way. They had always been the type of couple who had maybe said the odd word, or they'd held each other in private. Public displays like this had never been what they were about.

At that very moment though, Brody couldn't really imagine being stood anywhere else. She couldn't really imagine being at any other point in her life and having this conversation and that leading her to realise that the love of her life had always been this one man that she just couldn't seem to let go of. She loved him so very much that she'd now ended two relationships because he'd returned. There was nowhere she'd rather be, and nobody she'd rather be with.

Dreams were the one thing that had held her back when she had wanted to move on. She'd always had this perfect image of the family she'd eventually have. The only person she ever saw sharing that future with her was James. Even when she'd been in other relationships, James had snuck back into her mind and he had been the face on the other side of that table, or helping her take their legion of pets to the vet.

Her idea of her future was not one shared with many people, especially people of her age, but James was in the same place. He didn't really want children, and he didn't really want to be completely tied down to a single place. He wanted to be free, and he wanted to be open, and able to explore and develop. They were the things she wanted. They had always had compatible dreams, and hopes, and desire. Their futures were shaping up to be similar.

This was the absolute closest to those dreams either of them had been in in more than five years. She could almost touch them they were that close, but for some reason even though James had just announced to the entire square exactly how he felt about her, and exactly what he wanted from her, she was still somehow doubting his sincerity, and that literally made no sense. Right now, her own thought process was trying to betray her, and she really wanted for it to stop, because she didn't have the time for this.

The one thing she was absolutely certain of was that she wasn't going to give up on him again, and she wasn't going to stop thinking about what had happened and what the two of them had been through together. If they had gotten through all of that, and everything else that could possibly be thrown at them, maybe this was the perfect time to admit that she felt exactly the same as he did. Maybe, she should stop turning away, and just face it all head on, just like Pride advised her to do once.

"I love you, too."


End file.
